Omar Alexander Mohamed Al-Fayed (; born October 1987) is a British-born Finnish-Egyptian

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

and publisher. He is CEO of ESTEE ( Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises), based in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, that advocates

human space exploration Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

space colonization Space colonization (or extraterrestrial colonization) is the human settlement, settlement or colonization of outer space and astronomical bodies. The concept in its broad sense has been applied to any permanent human presence in space, such ...

, and sustainable human development within the

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

. He is co-founder and CEO of EarthX, a data visualization and mapping company based on

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

’s World Wind Project. He is chairman of Synergetic Press based in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and a fellow of the

Institute of Ecotechnics The Institute of Ecotechnics is an educational, training and research charity with a special interest in ecotechnology, the environment, conservation, and heritage. With its U.K. headquarters in London, England and its U.S. affiliate in Santa Fe ...

. Fayed was ranked 75 in ''

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

'' magazine's "Power 100" list in 2009.

Early life

Omar Fayed was born in London, England, to Finnish model

Heini Wathén Heini Wathén-Fayed (' Wathén; born 24 February 1955) is a Finnish socialite and former model. She is the widow of Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. She was an officer for The Ritz Hotel, London. Modeling career Heini Wathén signed wit ...

and Egyptian businessman

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed (; 27 January 192930 August 2023) was an Egyptian businessman whose residence and primary business interests were in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s. His business interests included ownership of the Hôtel R ...

. Egyptian film producer

Dodi Fayed Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; 15 April 195531 August 1997), commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of W ...

was his half-brother, who died in a car crash in Paris at the end of August 1997.

Career

Fayed started in business as a teenager trading commodities. In 2006, aged 19, he was appointed to the

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

board and in ten subsidiary companies including

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football league system, English football. They have played home games at Craven ...

and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, all companies owned by his father. Fayed was expected to take over as chairman of Harrods, however he resigned in 2009 to pursue his studies for an MBA. He expressed a desire to focus on environmental entrepreneurship instead, commenting in an interview, "that consumerist culture wasn’t doing anything positive for the future of humanity." His father

, subsequently sold Harrods in 2010, to

Qatar Holdings The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

, the sovereign wealth fund of the emirate of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, for £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion). Fayed is chairman of Biotecture, a provider of modular

green wall A green wall is a vertical built structure intentionally covered by vegetation. Green walls include a vertically applied growth medium such as soil, substitute substrate, or hydroculture felt; as well as an integrated hydration and fertigation ...

systems, that built large-scale living walls for the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and the

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. In ...

recycling and energy recovery facility in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. In 2014, he founded Living City, an initiative to connect and consult green enterprises and government projects. He was a director of the Ritz Hotel Paris. Fayed was

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

for the 2015 documentary film '' The Sunshine Makers'', about the manufacture of the psychedelic compound

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

in the 1960s.

Family feud

Omar Fayed was fifth in line of succession in inheriting his father

's £1.7 billion ($2 billion) fortune, who died 30 August 2023. His mother, a Finnish model,

, and two elder sisters and one older brother preceded him in the succession order. However, at the time of his father's death he was engulfed in a high profile power struggle against his mother and siblings, in an attempt to take control of his deceased father's estate. A couple of years prior to his father's death, Omar Fayed brought charges against his elder sister Camilla Al-Fayed and her husband, Mohamad Esreb, in Guildford Crown Court on 3 May 2021. Omar claimed his elder sister, brother-in-law and two of their bodyguards, including Matthew Littlewood a decorated Afghanistan war veteran, stole his mobile phone and assaulted him at his father's country mansion in Oxted, Surrey. Camilla Al-Fayed and all others accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. In the high profile court case, Omar had claimed that he was physically attacked by his brother-in-law in the incident, while Camilla denying charges told the court Omar was intoxicated at the time and a "heavy drug user". Omar Fayed had claimed £100,000 in damages from his sister for the incident, however in August 2021, the case was adjourned by the judge, who instructed Omar Fayed to instead solve the dispute privately, in order to avoid an expensive and embarrassing High Court battle. In a 2022 interview in

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

, re-published concurrently following his father's death, Omar had commented that "It’s sad and super silly what is going on with Camilla. A classic trustafarian tragedy," in regards to the incident in court and had further believed himself to be a victim of "a struggle of power between brothers." Omar Fayed had listed his home in London for sale in July 2022 for an asking price of £5 million.

References

External links

Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises WebsiteLiving City WebsiteOmar Fayed on Twitter
*
Punch magazine on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayed, Omar Harrods Egyptian Muslims Egyptian businesspeople El Fayed family Living people 1984 births Egyptian people of Finnish descent Finnish environmentalists Finnish people of Egyptian descent Finnish publishers (people)